Residents ‘surprised’ after downspouts stolen in Garden City

Residents of a Garden City neighbourhood are scratching their heads after their downspouts were ripped off of their homes in a brazen mid-day theft this week.

Harrison Mariano was shocked when his neighbour called him while he was at work to warn him someone had been spotted ripping downspouts off of homes and garages along Pearce Avenue Tuesday afternoon.

When he got home, his security camera footage, which he provided to the Free Press, painted a clear picture: a person in a black hoodie driving a silver van pulls into the back lane and yanks downspouts from several homes, including Mariano’s, before driving away.

“We were surprised that this happened to us, we really didn’t expect it,” Mariano said Saturday.

He said around 10 homes were hit, and has heard the culprit may have stolen downspouts from homes on other streets.

“It’s a really quiet neighborhood. Probably, people are really struggling now, I don’t know,” he said.

One of Mariano’s neighbours, who requested his name not be published due to his background working in correctional facilities, had his brand new downspouts taken from his garage.

He’s holding off on replacing them, concerned the thief may return.

“I’m thinking, should I go with plastic or with metal?” he said. “Because based on my previous job, usually, they’ll come back — they’ll give you time to replace it, then they’ll come back, so I’m not sure what to do at this time.”

Altogether, he said he’s out about $90 — not worth making a claim on his insurance, but, considering he just moved to the home in May, the incident has impacted his feelings of safety in the quiet neighbourhood.

“I (think), ‘Wow, I thought I made a right choice coming here,’ so I’m not too happy … now I’m thinking, are they going to come and (break into) the garage next?” he said.

Both neighbours said while they assumed the downspouts were sold for scrap metal, they didn’t believe it’d be worth much.

Winnipeg Police Service Const. Claude Chancy confirmed the incidents had been reported to police and an investigation was underway, but no arrests have been made.

There isn’t much material that can be stripped and sold from downspouts, he said.

“I think it’s been documented that the amount of value from taking a few downspouts does not come up to much, so I can’t really understand what the motive would be in stealing downspouts,” Chancy said.

malak.abas@freepress.mb.ca